‘There Goes Honey Boo Boo!’ Out The Door — Sexual Predator In
The New York Daily News reports a shocking story about the end of Honey Boo Boo. The rags-to-riches fairy tale just turned into a nightmare, as the reality TV show was suddenly and without warning cancelled by TLC, the cable station that carried the highly popular program since August 8, 2012. Discovery Communications, the parent company of TLC, claims to be “The World’s #1 Nonfiction Media Company.”
The unscripted series of a former child beauty contestant and her family had already taped the program in August for Season 4 of Here Comes Honey Boo Boo. From the can to the trash can.
http://youtu.be/dzt7oCFN3ek
The reality TV show was dropped like a hot potato in the midst of allegations that June Shannon (“Mama June”), mother and personal manager of Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson, had taken up with a former boyfriend, Mark McDaniel, recently released from prison after serving 10 years for child molestation. June and Mike “Sugar Bear” Thompson separated in September.
McDaniel, 53, was convicted of aggravated child molestation on May 20, 2004. He registered as a sex offender in March 2014. Boo Boo — we can’t make this stuff up!
Hot gossip site TMZ broke the story that Mama June’s eldest daughter, Anna, was molested by Mark McDaniel, who forced her to perform oral sex on him when she was 8-years-old. Anna Caldwell — known as “Chickadee” on the show — is now 20 and married with a child of her own. TLC has reached out to Anna offering her help and counseling.
The Inquisitr writes there is more to the story. Anna felt it was necessary to come forward to spill the beans and expose the hypocrisy of Mama June bringing a convicted pedophile around her 9-year-old daughter, Alana “Honey Boo Boo.” Anna says she feels betrayed by her mother, who has denied the allegations.
NPR raises some serious questions about “reality shows” that turn “hicksploitation TV” personalities into national punchlines. What’s at the bottom of all this? Ratings and dollars, of course.
Barbara Walters included “Honey Boo Boo” in her famous list of the “Top 10 Most Fascinating People” of the year in her 2012 selection. Walters defended Alana by claiming “she is not an obnoxious little girl.”
In the final analysis, Alana — “Honey Boo Boo Child” — might not have had too much time left. Aging is against the rules, and just maybe, with a show name like “Honey Boo Boo,” the rise and fall of such a program is destined to find itself in the midst of an unavoidable self-fulfilling prophecy. Perhaps the entire episode was simply a giant “boo boo.”
[Image Buzzfeed.com]
